Sudan said South Sudan was supporting a rebel attack on a town in the border state of South Kordofan and building up troops at an oil-producing border area where both countries fought for two days, state news agency SUNA said on Friday.

The fighting ended when southern troops moved out of the disputed Heglig oil field on the Sudan side of the border after Juba accused Khartoum of bombing southern oil fields.

"South Sudan supported the rebels with tanks and artillery," he said, adding that rebels on Friday had attacked the town with artillery but failed to take it. Rebels fled to regroup to launch another attack.

The Sudanese army accused the SPLA of amassing troops at the border south of Heglig. "The goal is to attack the Heglig area another time," Saad said.

Somalia's al Qaeda-linked militants clashed on Friday with African Union and Somali government troops, who are struggling to extend their control to territory beyond the capital where the Islamist rebels are still able to fire mortar barrages.

The spokesman for the Burundian contingent of AU troops said his unit had been unable to capture the airstrip in Daynile district, al Shabaab's last major stronghold at the edge of Mogadishu.

He said 20 al Shabaab fighters had been killed in the fighting, while one Burundian soldier had died and four were wounded.

The rebels have fired mortar rounds at the presidential palace over the last two weeks, killing at least seven people in the area around the palace. A suicide bomber blew himself up outside the gate of Villa Somalia, as the presidential palace is known.

Heavy fighting between a government-allied militia and Al Qaida-linked rebels in central Somalia killed dozens of fighters on Tuesday, residents said, as Islamist militants also stepped up attacks in the capital.

Dusamareb, 560km north of Mogadishu and the capital of Galgadud region in central Somalia, has been under the control of the Ahlu Sunna militia group for years.

Residents said Al Shabab, which controls two other towns in the region, stormed Dusamareb early on Tuesday, looting shops and cars before they were repelled by Ahlu Sunna.

"The death toll has now risen to about 50, this includes five civilians. Al Shabab also kidnapped a local elder they linked to the [Ahlu Sunna group]," Ali Hussain told Reuters from Dusamareb.

"The two military camps of Gao have fallen into the hands of the different rebel groups," an aide to the regional governor told AFP by telephone, referring to the city that served as army headquarters for the entire northern region.

"Gao is in their hands," the aide said.

Gao was rocked by heavy gunfire Saturday and fell after the head of the junta that seized power in Bamako on March 22 ordered the army not to fight the advance.

Captain Amadou Sanogo said in a statement late Saturday that "the Mali forces have decided not to prolong the fighting" around Gao because of the civilian population.

"A more viable security plan will be put in place so that the whole territory of Mali will not be violated," Sanogo said in the statement.

It was not immediately known how many people were killed or injured in the fighting.

Soldiers in the Malian army deserted the main military bases around the key northern town of Gao on Saturday after a rebel assault, military and civilian sources said.

One civilian source said rebels already occupied the two main bases around the town while another source just one of the two camps was now under rebel control. A Reuters reporter in Gao said there was no fighting in the town itself.

Disclaimer:
This website exists for fun and discussion only. The reader is responsible for discerning the validity, factuality
or implications of information posted here, be it fictional or based on real events.
The content of posts on this site, including but not limited to links to other web sites,
are the expressed opinion of the original poster and are in no way
representative of or endorsed by the owners or administration of this
website. The posts on this website are the opinion of the specific
author and are not statements of advice, opinion, or factual
information on behalf of the owner or administration of
LunaticOutPost.Com. The owners or administration of this website can't
be hold responsible for content hosted on sites that posters link to
in; including, but not limited to, posts, signatures, private messages and such.
This site may contain content not suitable for minors and if you feel
you might be offended by such content, you should log off immediately.

Fair Use Notice:
This site may contain copyrighted material the use
of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. Users may make such material available in an effort to advance
awareness and understanding of issues relating to civil rights,
economics, individual rights, international affairs, liberty, science
& technology, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any
such copyrighted material. The
material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have
expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for
research and educational purposes.

In accordance with industry accepted best practices we ask that users
limit their copy / paste of copyrighted material to the relevant
portions of the article you wish to discuss (no more than 50% of the
source material) provide a link back to the original article and provide
your original comments / criticism in your post with the article.If you are a legal copyright holder or a designated agent for such and
you believe a post on this website falls outside the boundaries of "Fair
Use" and legitimately infringes on yours or your clients copyright please contact [email protected]

I will not rent, sell, share or otherwise disclose your personal information to any third party.
We might contact you from time to time
regarding your purchases or the services (like forums and announcement
lists) you have subscribed to.

Some of the 3rd party advertisers on lunaticoutpost.com may use cookies
to track peformance and/or to serve relevant ads.
If you wish to read more and/or opt out of such cookies, please visit: http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/